


Happy Endings Happen All the Time

by inSarahslife



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Break Up, F/M, Gen, Jopper, Swearing, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-30 01:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12643341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inSarahslife/pseuds/inSarahslife
Summary: "Hawkins class of '60. She and Lonnie went to prom winter of '59 and Hopper sat outside in his steel blue GTO smokin' Camels".--David Harbour (Jim Hopper)





	Happy Endings Happen All the Time

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by David Harbour's tweet about Joyce & Hop.  
> "Hawkins class of '60. She and Lonnie went to prom winter of '59 and Hopper sat outside in his steel blue GTO smokin' Camels".

Prom was supposed to be the best night of their lives, right? So why was Jim Hopper sitting on his GTO with a flask filled with strong whiskey he’d snagged from his father’s liquor cabinet while he was passed out. He had been glaring at the gymnasium all night as his fellow classmates entered and exited the building.

At the beginning of the summer Hopper and Joyce had made plans to attend Hawkins High School’s prom together and enjoy one of the last moments before adulthood together. But then things changed when Hop decided to open his big fat mouth one too many times and Joyce had terminated their relationship.

Hop had been slapped, punched, and kicked in his life before. Sometimes by fights in school, others when his father was angry at him. None of that could measure up to feeling of his heart breaking when Joyce ended things between them. Months later and he was trying to drink the memory of that night away.

Things were going terribly until he got word that Joyce was attending prom with Lonnie fuckin’ Byers. The asshole who claimed to be ‘good friends’ with Joyce, and ‘loved everything about her’, but was the first to put her down. Out of all the guys that she could’ve chosen it had to be him. She knew that him and Lonnie didn’t get along. Hop half wondered if she was only seeing Lonnie to get back at him for the fight.

Pulling the pack of Camel’s from his jacket pocket, he grabbed a cigarette and placed it between his lips and lit it with a match. Inhaling the comfort of nicotine, he stared at the match that was on fire. He stared at it for what it seemed like forever, long enough to feel the heat of the fire on his fingers. His mind placed the analogy of his relationship with Joyce to the burning match. Sighing, he tossed it into the snow, the fire instantly going out with the sizzle against the snow. Bringing his flask to his mouth again, he took a long chug and let a good portion of the alcohol burn his throat. It was good to feel something other than heartache for Jim.

His eyes shot up to the doors of the gym to see which of his classmates were leaving the prom. His glare hardened and he stiffened his body still while Lonnie and Joyce were bouncing out the doors. She was glowing in excitement and holding hands with her date. Hopper had noticed that her and Lonnie were wearing crowns. His heart broke even more with the new knowledge that they had won the title of King and Queen of Prom. Her beautiful bright brown eyes had managed to instantly found their way to his from across the parking lot. She could always pick him out of a crowd in a heartbeat, he could never figure out how she did that. Her smile that he loved fell and she stared at him like she did when they had their last fight.

Hopper couldn’t glare at her anymore. His eyes softened once he realized that they were making eye contact. He didn’t want her to hate him. He never did. He never wanted them to break up. He never wanted to hurt her. But then again, everything Hopper touched seemed to fall apart. It was only a matter of time before the best thing that ever happened to him in his life would leave him. She had found someone else and he had found his flask. She was spending time with Lonnie and he was alone. He was always alone.

“Hey there Jim,” Hop turned around, startled at the new voice. His eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the new angle he was at. He was now aware that the alcohol was hitting him. Bob Newby stood in next to him in a powder blue tux.

“Bob the Brain.” He nodded to Bob, taking another swig from the flask.

“You doin’ okay?” He ignored the nickname.

“Fine…you know, never better.” Hopper’s eyes had found their way back to Joyce who was walking away with Lonnie. Her back was turned to them but he tried his hardest to make her feel the stare.

“Are you drunk right now?” Bob questioned.

“What else am I supposed to be?”

“Alright,” Bob sighed. “Get in the car and I’ll take you back home.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not gonna let you drive like that, you could hurt yourself or someone else. I can’t live with that guilt on my mind.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a nice guy. And because I like you.” Hopper fished in his pockets for the keys and tossed them to Bob.

“Thanks, Bob.” He smiled for the first time in months. The two of them got in the car and Hop settled in the passenger seat with another sip of whiskey.

“I wanna tell you that I’m sorry about you and Joyce. I know how much you care about her.” He tensed up at the mention of his ex.

“Yeah,” Hopper chuckled darkly. “I bet.”

“Hey, I’m serious, man.” Bob assured him. “I know that going through a breakup is hard stuff, especially when you have to keep seeing her. If you ever want to talk, my door is always open.”

“Bob, why the fuck do you even care? You’re just s-some nerd that has a weird fixation on butting into my goddamn life when I don’t want him there!” He slurred to Bob causing a long silence that he regretted. He didn’t mean to say all that, it was probably just the alcohol. Probably.

“You know, not everyone is out to get you. Some people just want to help.” Bob gazed at him waiting for a response.

“What do you want me to tell you? That I sit here and pretend that all this Joyce shit doesn’t get to me? That it hurts like hell to see her with someone else, but it hurts even more to see her not happy? That I’ve been drunk practically every night since we broke up? That my dreams are the only place I can talk to her? That I would do anything to hold her again?” Hopper hadn’t even noticed that he let some tears fall. Frankly, he didn’t give a shit if he was crying in front of Bob. He’d done it so much lately.

“Hey,” Bob quickly pulled off to the side of the road and wrapped a comforting arm around his classmate’s shoulder. They weren’t friends, necessarily, but that didn’t stop Bob from doing what he did best. “It’s okay, man. It’s okay to feel all those things, you’re gonna feel that way for awhile. You can’t leave it bottled up like you have that’s not good for you.”

“I just don’t know what to do anymore.” He sniffled, pulling himself together. “I was ready to spend the rest of my life with that girl. We were gonna move to the city after we graduated, get married, have a bunch of kids. Now it’s all over. We’re gonna do that with different people.”

“Things are gonna hurt, Jim. It’s gonna feel like your heart just keeps getting stepped on over and over again. That’s just life. But life is great. You always get more than one chance at a lot of things in life. Love happens to be one of them. Yeah, you guys might marry other people and never see each other again. You might get back together in a month. Or you might find a compromise when you’re both forty with kids and you feel like you’re seventeen again when you’re with her. You never know. But, you can’t sit and wait for those things to happen, because if you wait they’ll never happen. Things always have a way of working themselves out, you just have to have faith that everything will be okay one day. Besides, happy endings happen all the time.”

“Jesus Bob,” Hopper breathed out. “How the hell did you get so smart?” He smiled at him.

“Well, they don’t call me Bob the Brain for nothing!” Bob smirked, letting go of Hopper and going back to the steering wheel. Hop would never ever admit it, but Bob Newby was his favorite superhero.

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to @davidkharbour , the #1 Jopper shipper.  
> 


End file.
